Yogurt Bar

So the happy hour thing is a cool idea, but for a little person like me, I can’t handle that much fro-​yo. What ends up happening is I take the free upgrade and give half of it to my podmate Laurence W. When my trusty yogurt buddy isn’t available, though, I’m screwed and feel guilty for the rest of the afternoon for wasting the melty goodness.
+1 to Jack S. comment. Each time I try to order the green tea, I get talked out of it from the server because of the extra charge. What kind of business practice is that?

Customer 1: I’d like a plain yogurt with oreos, mochi, and blueberries
Server: «Are you really sure you want 3 toppings? … [long schpeal about cup sizes and the cost of 3 toppings vs. 2]
Customer 1: «.uh, ok, I guess I’ll take just the oreos and mochi»
Customer 2: [I want three toppings]
Server: [Same schpeal about 3 toppings]
Customer 2: «Ok, I guess I’ll have just the first two.»
Customer 3: «Can I have a green tea yogurt with …»
Server: «Are you sure you want the green tea? Just to let you know, it costs $ 1 extra»
Customer 3: «Ok, I guess I’ll just have the plain»
Look, I understand sometimes customers don’t realize when something costs extra, and maybe they then get upset. But it’s bad practice to make all your customers feel guilty and regretful about what they’re ordering, especially at a desert bar.
Plus, it’s pricey, the yogurt’s watery and the toppings aren’t fresh.

I’m still disappointed and I’m ashamed of myself for giving it another try. The counter person didn’t fill it in properly, couldn’t ring it in right and the fro yo is horrible. Ick. Never again.

I happened upon this place by accident whilst strolling along Mission, and I instantly developed a fro yo craving (you know, «OH my gosh, now that I’ve seen this place I MUST consume as much frozen yogurt as possible. ASAP.») Judging by the other reviews, it’s a good thing I didn’t try the original… the chocolate was just fine, however! And though it’s not the best fro yo I’ve had in the city (and the selection of toppings is not HUGE), I was positively delighted when the super-​friendly server informed me that it was «Happy Hour.» What? Bigger size for a lower price? Sweet!
Needless to say, I walked contentedly away with a tasty, slightly-​less expensive-​than-​expected treat. Stomach happy.

Fro Yo Happy Hour! Who would’ve thought?! Mon-​Fri 3−6pm you get a free size upgrade… meaning you pay $ 3-​something for a small and you get the next size up. Huge!
Definitely NOT my fave fro yo spot in the city, but love the happy hour deal. They have original (tart), green tea, and chocolate. Plus, their flavor of the month is Pumpkin Pie! Tastes just like it, but incorporated with the tart yogurt flavor I love. Sounds kinda funky but it magically works. Their regular chocolate flavor is not bad either, for the non-​tart lovers. I just didn’t like the «oreo» topping I put on it, because it tasted like bad generic oreo.
My fro yo recommendation: Half pumpkin, half original, topped with mochi.

My new default for fro yo near work. The November flavor of the month is PUMPKIN — a little tart, a little spicy — absolutely delicious! I recommend it keeping it simple with their super soft mochi balls. I’m trying to chill out on toppings these days (icebee overload… mmm)…
Happy hour from 3−6pm with free size upgrades, holler!

Good lord there are so many frozen yogurt places in San Francisco now — what is the deeeealio???
My coworker thinks we are in a froyo bubble and it’s bound to burst soon. I worry.
I do like this place the best compared to all the others that have sprouted up… mainly because they have CHOCOLATE… yes please!

Ok this is purely my bad…
I was walking a couple of months ago and saw that a yogurt place has opened… near my work and its walking distance. Since then, I’ve been dying to try it out. Although, I didn’t bother reading the other Unilocal reviews… and so that’s why I’m here.
My boss and I were researching for books (for inspiration for a new corporate identity system) and since it was hot… we both decided to go get yogurt after. I was excited to get there… and I tried the chocolate flavor… tasted like chocolate soft serve. I passed. I automatically ordered the original + choco chips. Spent roughly around $ 5. WOW.
My boss ordered the same size, I believe it was small… but the green tea + yogurt chips. She tasted hers first and made me try hers. I did. OMG! It was freaking sour. She’s like, «it’s really original yogurt.» I was dreading what mine would taste like… and soon enough…“it’s hella sour!” YUK!
I wanted to throw it away but cheapo me… decided to stuck it out. I mean I’ve had my share of yogurt taste… and man, this place is by far the sourest.
Lesson learned: research Unilocal before trying it out and never going to this place again.

Wow, San Francisco is NOT impressing me with their froyo qualities so far… please let me know where the good ones are (I’ve tried this place and Icebee, I’m sure there are plenty more I need to hit to make the conclusive statement that SF is lacking in quality froyo)?
Too Icy.
Way too sour (unless some of you like that extra *kick*).
Too expensive. (95 cents per topping and no combo options???)
Cute store front, but nothing else adds up in terms of value and quality. It’s not that bad, just really not that good for what you are paying.
Ya know how’s it annoying when places like Starbucks name their sizes anything but «small, medium, and large»? Ya they do something like that too. I think I ordered a «The Rock» (a small). I understand the SF references, but I don’t want to eat THE ROCK! I just want a nice tasty, NON ROCKY froyo. Sigh.

A hot afternoon always warrants a cold dessert in my book, so I decided to head over to Yogurt Bar to get some sweet sustenance. While I was amused by their SF-​centric ordering sizes (The Rock, Union Square, Golden Gate), I was not so impressed by their yogurt. It may be organic, but I want fro-​yo that’s tasty, and Yogurt Bar’s fro-​yo is just mediocre.
I sampled the green tea fro-​yo, and while its okay, I didn’t think it warranted an extra $ 1 charge. Instead, I went for the strawberry fro-​yo, which was an almost ghastly shade of neon pink, but lacking in actual strawberry flavor. The fro-​yo had a nice tart flavor, but was a bit icy for my taste. My go-​to topping, mochi, was perfectly fine, but it would have been nice had they sprinkled the mochi all over, rather than off to one side.
They do have a loyalty card (buy 9 and get your 10^th free), but I’m not sure that I’ll ever eat here enough to fill it up.

Couldn’t even finish the sample.
BLEH!

We stopped by Yogurt Bar today after lunch. I am not sure why I never noticed this place — I take Mission Street home every night. Maybe it’s because this place is really small and inconspicuous with only a couple of tables inside and a couple outside. Maybe it’s because I am too busy focusing on not running over the tourists and the homeless. Who knows?
I had their plain yogurt with strawberries in a small cup. For only $ 2.50, you get a small cup (5 oz, which is more than enough). Each topping is 95 cents. They managed to put a lot of chopped up strawberries in my cup. I think an 8-​oz cup might be a better value, but I can’t handle too much frozen yogurt. The yogurt itself was a bit mealy and not really tart.
With a YoCup and a SoGreen nearby, this place will not be getting too much of my business. It’s not very inviting, and the yogurt itself isn’t as good.
It’s still cheap, organic and fat-​free — one star for each of those. :)

I am all about organic.
But when frozen yogurt tastes like sour bad milk.
As was the case yesterday with Yogurt Bar’s new organic original yogurt (the only original that they now carry)
I may just have to pass on natural frozen yogurt and stick to my Icebee.

After trying YoCup I decided to walk over to Yogurt Bar to see how the prices/​taste was.
Yogurt Bar is next the Calif. Historical Society, across from MOAD & the Cartoon Museum.
I got to sample the 4 flavors they had today:
Original tart — ok, average
Strawberry — ok, sweet. no strawberries in there
Green Tea — ok, just average
Chocolate — ok, like regular chocolate frozen yogurt
Names are different & prices slightly cheaper than YoCup:
The Rock small $ 2.50 + .95 for 1 topping
Union Square $ 3.50 + $ 1.50 for 3 toppings
Golden Gate 13 oz $ 5.70 + $ 1.5 for 3 toppings
They have 1 size for smoothies 16 oz for $ 4.5
$ 1 more for Green Tea
Yogurt Parfait
16 oz $ 3.95

What is everyone here bitching about?
The plain yogurt is awesome — get the mid range cup with 3 toppings for $ 5 out the door. You live and work in SOMA, remeber? Did you expect it to be $ 2.50 in the land of $ 12 lunch salads?
Fresh strawberries, kiwis and blueberries please — Its perfect. Its soo good I havent even tried the other stuff yet. Jeez people — its frozen Yogurt.

This place is all about restrictions. It’s all about the «but»…here’s why.
Visit #1:
Me: I’d like half original and half green tea in my cup, please. If that’s possible…
Yogurt Bar: Sure, you can do that. (As she’s filling my cup…) Oh, BUT because you’ve ordered green tea, that will be $ 1 more.
Me (in my head, of course): What?! Stop what you’re doing! Dump it, right now! $ 1 extra?! That’s f-​ing outrageous.
Visit #2:
Me: Hi, we’d like to share the buy one, get 50% off the second discount.
YB: Okay, BUT the 50% discount is only given for the yogurt. Toppings are excluded.
Me (in my head, again): You’re f-​ing lame.
(YB hands me a frequent buyer card)
Me: Thanks.
YB: BUT it’s only good for one full price purchase, so even though you both got yogurt, I can only give you one stamp.
Me (out loud this time): Yeah, okay, lame.
Their yogurt tastes like a frozen Yakult drink (you know, those Korean yogurt drinks that come in tiny bite-​size containers with foil lids?). I love Yakult, but when you claim to be all-​natural froyo, I question that Yakult-​tasting froyo can be all-​natural. They also chop their fruit up way too small – I’ve noticed this with their strawberries, kiwis, and mango. It results in a big mush of fruit in your yogurt cup. And lastly, their mochi was too soft the other day. Soft mochi… bad?! Trust me, it was weird. Too doughy or something. Borderline lacking chewiness.
My heart still belongs to yoCup…

Do not make the mistake that I did and sample the green tea frozen yogurt. Do not be fooled by the generous portion. The sample will only be a waste of yogurt. As I could not stand the taste of it, I threw most of it away. I could not bear to finish it.
Went for their original instead, which was better in flavor. The frozen yogurt was more frozen than yogurt. In other words, icy/​watery.
Why three tolerant «A-​OK» stars? Their saving grace is the fact that you can smother this healthy [non-​fat] treat with HEATH BAR. Hooray for being unhealthy and scratching the itch that only a generous HEATH BAR topping can! Mmmmm.

Oh. My. So. Yummy.
This place just went in a half a block away from Unilocal HQ, and now we’ve got fro-​yo in every direction! I turn right, I hit Icebee’s. I turn left, I hit Yogurt Bar. What’s a gal to do? And don’t even try to tell me it’s good for you with all of that «pro-​biotics cancel out the sugar» nonsense… that’s just too good to be true.
I’ve been meaning to try this place since it went in a few weeks ago, and have to say, I’m vurrry happy to have another option in the hood. The yogurt is more tangy than mouth-​pursing tart, and once the ultimate trifecta of mochi balls, strawberries and mango are piled on top, I’ve reached fro-​yo nirvana.
I hear the chocolate is amazing. Can’t wait to go back and partake of the ultimate edible temptation.

So I was watching the «Invasion of the Body Snatchers» the other night (the cool, gory 1978 version, not the lousy Nicole Kidman update… puh-leeze)…and I noticed how these alien forms landed on our planet and festered on our plants into pods, which then infiltrated people’s bodies and turned them to dust so that they can produce their unemotional replicants. You know… your typical FOX news story.
Anyhow, I believe that the sudden appearance of all these fro-​yo shops in the FiDi and the rest of the city… well, it has to be an alien invasion, don’t you think? The servers all look the same and have the same uniforms… they’re usually young, smiling Asian girls who really want you to try the sample cups. Of course, you have to taste it… you must taste it… they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. But what happens to our bodies? Do they crumble to dust so that our robotic duplicates take over the earth? How do you know I wasn’t sprung from a pod next to Gavin Newsom? After all, you’ve never seen us in the same room, have you?
Well, Yogurt Bar appeared out of nowhere, or at least I think it did since I’ve never noticed it before walking on Mission. Luckily, I was with Jamie W. as we can escape the pod people more seamlessly as a pair. I did try a sample of the monthly special, mango. So why do all these fro-​yo flavors have the same tart flavor. Could it be an alien elixir that brainwashes us into thinking we are eating diet food? Could be. I decided to throw caution to the wind and order «The Rock» size of the mango — 5 ounces for $ 2.50 — and even added Heath bar crumbs to mix it up a little (see my photo).
It was OK, nothing worth going lactose-​palooza about. The aliens will need to wait another day to conquer the likes of me, sharp tack that I am… unless my frugal nature draws me back for their «Buy One, Get the Second One for Half Off» special. The aliens must know I’m cheap.
FRO-​YO — 3 stars… OK I guess… you can always try the one on the next block
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… tiny space. those aliens don’t take up much room in their human form
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… awfully friendly… but do they come in peace?
TOTAL — 3 stars… wake me up before you fro-​yo, otherwise you’re goin’ solo

I love that people think froyo won’t have a physical impact. There’s no cream! There’s no eggs! It’s good for you! Right. All the sugar alone? Whooowheee. A 5 oz. cup of the chocolate stacked with mochi and strawberries effectively powered my noggin’ for the rest of the afternoon. If you choose to sit though, they’ve got a few tables and a bright interior.
Most importantly however, it was delicious. The original has a Greek yogurt-​like tartness but the chocolate, rich and smooth, is the winner in my book. The fruit is super fresh, and cut up in tiny bits for perfect spreadage between bites. The toppings are standard (though lacking in the M&M dept) but’ll run you almost a dollar, yowza!
There are definite benefits to eating it plain too. As the nutrition sheet informed us, this tangy goodness is packed with acidolphilus bifidus. So I suppose we can’t feel too guilty. Perchance you’re not a hippie and haven’t yet been introduced to the wonders of this microorganism? Allow me.
As probiotics assist in breaking down foodstuff for maximum nutritional absorption and prevent harmful materials from entering the blood stream we can now consume copious amounts of froyo to treat:
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
flatulence
diarrhea
Candida overgrowth
yeast infection (would orally work for this?!)
urinary tract infections
and of course, bad breath.
So do your friends with halitosis a favor, and bring em here. Plus it makes your junk bigger.
Visit during afternoon doldrums for a punch!